Day 1540

Has anybody else completely burned out on social media? I used to post something new and original to Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Instagram every single day. This was in addition to writing my daily blog post. After about a year of this, I realized that I had completely run out of ideas. I had nothing to say. I had already shared every story I had ever written, uploaded every picture I had ever snapped, and dug up a lot of old stuff that probably should have remained buried. Social media is insatiable. No matter how much you feed it, it always wants more.

Clients sometimes ask me what they can do to maximize their social media efforts. I feel like telling them to just forget about it. For most people it isn't worth the effort. Unless you are Ellen DeGeneres at the Oscars, your photos are never going to be re-tweeted millions of times. Your earnest efforts to promote your business on Facebook are never going to garner one tenth the attention of a single cute cat photo. No matter how exciting you think your company is, there is only so much you can say about it. After you've said your piece, you just become another spammer.

It's kind of a shame that nobody really cares all that much. I know dozens of bloggers and photographers who pour their heart and soul into elaborate online creations that might have 25 genuine fans worldwide. I have a lot of followers, but that doesn't mean they actually read anything. I bet I don't have more than 25 people who actually read everything I write. It probably wasn't that different in the analog era. Back when I played in a band, they used to say that only one in a thousand good bands ever got signed to a record deal. A similar percentage of writers and poets ever saw their books in print. Most people were just throwing notes out to sea in glass bottles.

Andy Warhol was right. Today everybody actually is a star for thirty minutes. What happens after your thirty minutes is over though? The media machine still expects to be fed. I don't think it matters whether you're a guy with two Dalmatians like me, or a giant corporation; eventually you get to a point where there's nothing more to say.

I've totally run out of coherent things to say on Twitter and Facebook. Luckily, this blog has a format that I can sustain forever. I just tell you what I did today. Tomorrow I'll do the same thing all over again. Reading this is probably an acquired taste. Maybe it's a bit like watching an Andy Warhol movie. Very little happens. Things do change over time though. You can call the changes growth, decay, or whatever you want.

Today, Dash's regular vet was very impressed with his progress. It was the first time she'd seen him since his surgery and she agreed with the other vets that we were very lucky to have detected the cancer so early. We still haven't received the pathology report, but we should know whether Dash will require further treatment by the end of the week.

Work was slow today. Ordinarily, that would have been a good thing, but Tuesdays are usually busy and I was prepared to put my nose to the grindstone. It threw my schedule off when things didn't turn out as I expected. This is when people say it's good to be spontaneous. I'm not spontaneous though. Never have been and never will be. When I'm off my schedule, I usually just drift aimlessly.

Tomorrow should be focused. Dot has her weekly physical therapy session and will get in the underwater treadmill again. There are bills to be paid, so a trip to the post office is on tap as well. I need to renew a prescription and I suspect that there will be things to write as well. The day will be just like a hundred other Wednesdays I have already told you about, but I still hope you find it interesting.

Orion is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 441

I got a phone call today asking if I'd be interested in writing an annual report. Definitely! Before spending a lot of money on the company annual report became a corporate faux pas, I used to get a lot of this sort of work. Now, most companies just stick a cover on their 10-K report and claim that they are saving the shareholders money. I'm actually kind of surprised that anyone still does a full blown annual report with an editorial section anymore, but I'm certainly happy to get the job.

I also decided to run an advertisement for my own company, which is something I do even less frequently these days than write annual reports. You'd think, since I'm in the advertising business myself, that I'd be a little more enthusiastic about self promotion. Unfortunately, most of the money I've spent on my own advertising has just disappeared down a black hole. Since the very beginning, most of my business has come from referrals. It's time to give advertising a try again though. I'd like to expand the veterinary specialty side of my business and I've just about run out of veterinarians that I know personally.

Dash certainly knows plenty of vets personally. I've been taking him to the vet every other week lately. After yesterday's false start, I was determined not to forget his appointment again. I put a post-it note reminder on my computer and we arrived right on time. I have this elaborate appointment calendar on my computer that I can update via e-mail or even using my cell phone, but I seldom remember to look at it. Old fashioned yellow sticky notes seem much more effective. The computer calendar just seems to remind me of what I've already forgotten when I finally get around to looking at it.

I need a Twitter strategy. Google Analytics is telling me that almost 10% of my web traffic is already coming from Twitter. Maybe it's time that I started taking Twitter seriously.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day